3. Learning records that actually help

Portfolio versus patient record

The clinical record is for the patient’s care. Your scheme portfolio is for your education. Do not paste identifiable patient detail into a learning log. Do not use the notes as a diary of how stressed you were.

What to write after a difficult case

What you planned, what happened, who you asked, what you would do next time. Facts, not a novella. If something went wrong, the patient record still needs a contemporaneous clinical account — Human Factors, not a cover-up.

Study days and this CPD

Scheme teaching, this course, and GDC highly recommended topics (medical emergencies, disinfection, radiography, safeguarding, legal and ethical) all count as learning. They do not replace each other. Your scheme may still require named study days even if you complete PrismCPD modules.

Complaints and insight

If a patient is unhappy, use the practice complaints process (Complaints Handling). Insight for your portfolio is “I missed X, I asked Y, I changed Z” — not “the patient was difficult.”

What this course is not

It is not your official DFT handbook. Scheme names, e-portfolio brands, and NHS structures change. Use current documents from your deanery or equivalent. This hour is about the professional habits that stay the same: competence, supervision, and honest records.

Always follow GDC Standards and your current Foundation scheme rules.